Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

I have a CD that uses this and it... bugs me. Normally I can tolerate all kinds of studio wizardry... drum machines, cheesy synth strings, etc... but in church music it just seems wrong.

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But it had not been in Tess's power - nor is it in anybody's power - to feel the whole truth of golden opinions while it is possible to profit by them. She - and how many more - might have ironically said to God with Saint Augustine, "Thou hast counselled a better course than thou hast permitted."

Why substitute a machine for the human voice? Ison machines are annoying. I've heard a couple of recordings of Fr. Seraphim Dedes using an ison machine and it's just bad. Yes, a good human isonkrates is hard to find, but rather than allow the machine to give the drone note, you should look to train someone who can do that for you.

Why substitute a machine for the human voice? Ison machines are annoying. I've heard a couple of recordings of Fr. Seraphim Dedes using an ison machine and it's just bad. Yes, a good human isonkrates is hard to find, but rather than allow the machine to give the drone note, you should look to train someone who can do that for you.

SECONDED!!! These machines are tolerable for training purposes, but ghastly when used during services.

Yes, a good human isonkrates is hard to find, but rather than allow the machine to give the drone note, you should look to train someone who can do that for you.

And keep them at home when practising? Unless I can train my wife to do the drone, that's not really an option.

As for recordings, there are some bad ones and some better ones. The human voice is always nicer, but often not available - teaching someone to do a proper ison is more difficult than teaching them how to sing the melody. So it's often the machine vs. nothing. In church, where only the human voice can be employed, no ison is better than a fake one. For a recording, machine is better than nothing at all.

Yes, a good human isonkrates is hard to find, but rather than allow the machine to give the drone note, you should look to train someone who can do that for you.

And keep them at home when practising? Unless I can train my wife to do the drone, that's not really an option.

As for recordings, there are some bad ones and some better ones. The human voice is always nicer, but often not available - teaching someone to do a proper ison is more difficult than teaching them how to sing the melody. So it's often the machine vs. nothing. In church, where only the human voice can be employed, no ison is better than a fake one. For a recording, machine is better than nothing at all.

If you are recording, and have the knowledge and the skill, then you should be able to do your own ison via a second track.

Ison machines should never be used under any circumstance. They are evil.

Does anyone know how much an ison machine costs? I'm making a short trip to Greece next week, God willing, and was thinking of picking one up there if it's not too expensive.

Thanks!

I wasn't going to respond since I can't be of much help, but it seems you've gotten completely unhelpful answers.

Your best bet is to ask your parish priest or psaltis. Failing that, try the Aposoliki Diaconia store in Athens. (I kept my eye out for one in Thessaloniki and found none. The AD store there didn't seem to have one). And I hate to say, but unless you know modern Greek you probably won't be able to find one. And I also hate to say, it could be exorbidantly expensive, and be on guard for a rip off unless someone you know, or AD refers them. Please also tell us if you find one.

And the machines can be useful, IF employed judiciously.

« Last Edit: November 12, 2011, 07:12:40 AM by MarkosC »

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O Lord although I desired to blot outwith my tears the handwriting of my many sinsAnd for the rest of my life to please Thee through sincere repentanceYet doth the enemy lead me astray as he wareth against my sould with his cunning

A cheaper alternative is to use this free PC program (the original website is not working):http://web.archive.org/web/20080820192323/http://www.byzanmusic.com/iso/isokraten.htmlFrom what I read, it does not run on Windows 7 (It is meant for Windows 95/Me). I just downloaded it from the above site and tried it out on an XP computer (making sure not to install the older Windows components that comes with it) and it runs (although I did have a runtime error once).

MarcosC and Opus118, thank you very much for your helpful responses! $1500 is a lot more than I'd be prepared to pay for a machine that goes "uuuuuuh", so I think I'll give it a pass this time since I'm just going for a few days. The program you linked to looked interesting, will definitely try it out!

Getting a used Win95 laptop is probably a better bet if you want portability.

ETA: Orthodox11, the one store that's a must visit is AD, at least from my time in Thessaloniki. I wouldn't bother with others on a short trip, unless there are other places that are really good elsewhere.

« Last Edit: November 12, 2011, 07:20:54 PM by MarkosC »

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O Lord although I desired to blot outwith my tears the handwriting of my many sinsAnd for the rest of my life to please Thee through sincere repentanceYet doth the enemy lead me astray as he wareth against my sould with his cunning